Luke Triton and the Impossible Orange 2: EB
by ThinkingCAPSLOCK
Summary: Electric Boogaloo  Luke tries once more to overcome his enemy.


**Luke Triton and the Impossible Orange 2: Electric Boogaloo**

Luke was prepared to pit his strength once more against the thick-skinned brute before him. He was ready to feel its juices dribble down his chin as he dined in victory.

_ He was going to defeat this blasted orange once and for all._

The last round had been a total defeat. A _humiliation._ Luke had been brought down from an unexpected presence no young boy could have rallied from: _seeds._

But not this time. No, this time he had _asked_ the professor first. He had asked and the professor had told him that there were no seeds. Not this time. This time he had bought seedless oranges from the store, per request.

Not only seedless, but fresh. He had been told they were from _Florida._ _Florida oranges._ Luke, nearly thirteen and three quarters, wasn't quite sure why the professor had specified the place. Did it matter where oranges came from? An orange was an orange, after all…wasn't it?

_Maybe they make seedless oranges only in Florida,_ Luke thought as he stared down the foe in his hand. He knew the orange was glaring back. Sure, it had no eyes—but he could _feel_ it.

Luke was ready for the battle this time. He was more ready than he had been before. In that time, he had seen his mother peel countless oranges. There was always that perfect first cut, then the effortless curving line of goldeny skin she produced. Luke was determined to do the same. _This time, there would be no contest._

Luke clawed at the skin. This was not so effortless. He dug away at it, but the orange remained unmarked. He felt the all too familiar sensation of inadequate technique. This was too much like last time—no, he had to prevail!

Glancing around the room, he assured himself that no one was watching. It was time to _cheat_. The professor had always told him that true gentlemen never cheated, but that was then. This was now. This was _different_. Cheating was okay in this situation, right?

Luke bit the orange. He choked back a few ungentlemanly words and spat out a sliver of peel. A _sliver?_ Only a _sliver?_ Oh, well. The deed was done. Now he could successfully start. And he _would_ be successful.

He had to be.

Luke tugged at the opening, making it larger and larger. Were the insides of oranges _supposed_ to be this white? He was pretty sure they weren't supposed to look like this. This looked like something else. Like the orange had a _second skin._

He prodded at the white bit for a while. It seemed rather…springy. He scraped away a piece and tried to pull it up. More white. How thick was it? Luke had a sudden image of an entire orange made entirely of white. There was no orange. Just layer after layer of horrid white skin. It wasn't even the stringy kind, no. It was the orange _laughing_ at him is what it was.

Luke bodily grabbed the orange in his fist. Ouch! What the—what _was_ that? The stem had tried to fight back, stabbing him in the finger. Luke didn't even know oranges _had_ stems. The overwhelming victory Luke had envisioned was slowly fleeing his grasp. It was getting away.

Layton's number one apprentice _never_ let victory get away!

Luke scrabbled about, tear at the orange with his fingers. Die! Die! Die! _I will eat you if it is the last thing I do!_

Finally, he found a hold on the skin, peeling away ragged chunk by ragged chunk. It was slow and difficult, but at least it was something. He may have victory after all!

"What's that you have there, my boy?"

Luke jumped, startled. How long had the professor been there? "I-I—"

"Are you having a little difficulty? Let me help you." Layton plucked the orange from Luke's hands, leaving the boy slack-jawed, unable to think of a protest. "You must be hungry, from the way you were fighting with it." Carefully, effortlessly, the professor peeled the fruit in one long motion. The orange did not battle the professor. It succumbed instantly. Why had it not done the same to Luke? _Why was it only Luke that was having problems?_

"Here you go, my boy." Layton dropped the orange back into the boy's hands and patted him on the head. "I've got to get back to work now. Enjoy!"

"T-thank you, professor," Luke managed, tearfully staring down at the naked orange as the professor disappeared back into the study.

Luke hadn't lost, no. It couldn't be considered a loss, _really_. He had been making far too much progress at the end to have been defeated. But he hadn't really _won_, either. The professor had done all the work. It was more of…more of a _tie_, really. Luke didn't really like ties. He wanted a decisive answer.

He wanted to defeat the orange once and for all.


End file.
